Bernie Ecclestone is refusing to back down on his proposal to introduce a medal system despite widespread criticism.

Ecclestone believes replacing the current 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points system with a gold, silver and bronze medal for the top three finishers will prompt drivers to risk more during races.

FIA President Max Mosley told the World Motor Sport Council in Monte Carlo that market research would be conducted into the proposal before they decide on anything.

"Bernie's wedded to medals, but it will be genuinely interesting to see what the fans say because they do pay the bills," Mosley said.

However, F1 supremo Ecclestone insists the current scoring system forces drivers to be conservative during the latter stages of races.

"Well, quite simply, it will make Formula One a much more exciting spectacle because it will incentivise drivers to race to win," he told the official Formula One website.

"We should see much more overtaking, drivers will take more chances and they will race each other all the way to the chequered flag. At the moment, quite often we see drivers settling for second, third or fourth position, and the race can be dull in the final stint after the last round of pit stops.

"The drivers aren't to blame, they're racers, but the scoring system forces them to be too conservative. As things are, if they want to take the title, it is better to settle for a few, safe points rather than chase down the guy in front and risk going home with no points.

"But this is Formula One, the pinnacle of world motorsport, and only the best driver should win the title.

"Being a Formula One world ohampion is not about being a consistent and reliable runner-up. It's about racing hard, taking chances and not settling for second best.

"Last year, Hamilton was leading the drivers' championship before he had even secured his maiden win. Likewise, after Canada this year, Kubica led the drivers' championship on points even though Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen had all won more races.

"Lewis and Robert are both extremely talented, but I don't think the system should produce that kind of result. It shouldn't be possible for someone to be crowned world champion without winning a single race, but that really could happen unless we change the scoring system."

The 78-year-old also dismissed suggestions that he came up with the proposal as he was unhappy to see Hamilton walk away with the World Championship.

"Rubbish! Lewis is a worthy world champion and nobody was more delighted than I was that he won," he said.

"He was destined to be a champion and it was just a question of when, not if, he would win.

"The only thing I was uncomfortable about was that under the current system Lewis needed to finish only fifth in the last race to win the title and I don't think the fans go to races or switch on their TV to watch a great driver aim for fifth place.

"The want to see the best drivers in the world battling hard for a race win."